Stabilized peg-board hanger



June 5, 1962 D. B. ROMAN 3,037,733

STABILIZED PEG-BOARD HANGER Filed May 26; 1961 Z SheQts-Sheet 1INVENTOR. DONALD B. ROMAN ATTORNEYS June 5, 1962 D. B. ROMAN 3,037,733

STABILIZED PEG-BOARD HANGER F iled May 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent 3,037,733 STABILKZED PEG=BARD HANGER Donald lit. Roman,Lake Forest, ill. (4540 Narragansett, Chicago 30, Ill.) Filed May 26,1961, Ser. No. 112,907 11 Claims. (ill. 248-423) This application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 43,692,filed June 23, 1960, now abandoned.

This invention relates to the stabilizing of peg-board hangers on thepeg-board.

Article supporting racks are commonly provided by the use of relativelyrigid sheets of hard board or the like perforated in a regular grid-likepattern 50 that supporting hangers in the form of hooks or brackets maybe secured in various locations on the board by engaging an anchoringelement of the hanger with a selected per foration in the board. Hangersfor such use with pegboard take many different forms and shapes that aredetermined primarily by the nature of the articles that are to besupported thereby. In a broad sense all or most of such hangers embody avertically extended body with an article-support extending forwardlyfrom the lower end of the body or from some intermediate point spaceddownwardly from the upper end of the body, and at the upper end of thebody anchoring means in the form of an anchoring hook is provided whichmay be inserted rearwardly through a selected perforation in the boardin a known and well understood manner.

When thus mounted on a peg-board, the body extends downwardly withrespect to its interlocked or anchored upper end, and because the lowerportions of the body bear against the forward face of the board, theprojecting support may serve to carry the weight of an article placed onsuch support.

Hangers of the aforesaid character are usually made from a single lengthof wire having a diameter just slightly less than the diameter of theperforations in the peg-board, and the anchoring means is formed bybending of the wire at one end, the support is formed by bending thewire to a hook-like or other suitable form at the other end of the wire,while an intermediate portion of the wire is left in straight form toprovide the body of the hanger. Conventionally this intermediate or bodyportion of the hanger has a length somewhat greater than the verticalspacing of the perforations.

In the use of hangers made from a single piece of wire as abovedescribed it has been found that when an article is put in place on oris removed from the hanger, the lower end of the hanger often shiftslaterally across the forward face of the board, or away from the board.Such forward displacement of the lower portion of the hanger oftendisengages the hanger from the peg-board. Such undesired displacement ofthe hangers has been considered objectionable to such an extent thatvarious forms of stabilizers have been provided for connecting the lowerportion of the body with the perforation that is located immediatelybelow the perforation in which the upper end of the hanger is secured.In some instances the stabilizing means has taken the form of aprojecting lug integral with the body of the hanger and adapted toextend into the lower perforation with a snug friction fit, while inother instances separately formed generally U-shaped fine wire clipshave been provided to embrace the body of the hanger with the ends ofthe clips projected through the lower opening in the board and having aspring-like lateral engagement with the sides and rear edges of theperforation. Both types of conventional stabilizers have been consideredto be objectionable in that when forward forces are applied to thesupport or hook, the stabilizer is disengaged from the lower perfora-3,037,733 Patented June 5, I 962 tion, and the user must thereuponre-engage the stabilizer with the board.

Another form of conventional hanger is arranged to provide a supportthat is extended for a considerable distance horizontally so that onelarge object or a plurality of small objects may be carried on thesupport. These larger hangers are usually made up of a plurality ofwires welded together so that a body is provided that rests against thepeg-board, and the body has rearwardly projecting lugs spaced along theupper edge of the body so that such lugs may be engaged withhorizontally spaced perforations in the board. When articles are liftedfrom such larger hangers there is often a tendency for the lowerportions of the body to move outwardly away from the supporting board,and this in some instances causes disengagement of the hanger from theboard.

The present invention is concerned with stabilization of a peg-boardhanger through the use of stabilizing means that is permanentlyassociated with the hanger, and the primary object of the invention isto provide a hanger having stabilizing means thereon whereby the lowerbody portion of the hanger may be positively yet releasably held againstforward displacement with respect to the board.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sta bilized peg-boardhanger that is adapted for mounting of the hanger of the peg-board in anovel manner and in such a way that the hanger is releasably heldagainst side to side displacement and against forward displacement withrespect to the board.

Another important object is to provide a stabilized pegboard hangerwherein shiftable stabilizing means on the body of the hanger have acoordinated relation to the supporting or anchoring means so as to beengaged with the board in the same movement as the anchoring means, andwhich may then be shifted to a stabilizing relation.

A related object is to provide a hanger with the upper anchoring armsextending in a lateral direction and having a stabilizing hook on thebody of the hanger that may be rotated into one position for mounting ofthe hanger, and into another position for holding the hanger in placeand in a stabilized relation on the board.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims, and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show preferredembodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof, andwhat is now considered to be the best mode in which to apply theseprinciples. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same orequivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made asdesired by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stabilized peg-board hanger of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the hanger;

FEG. 3 is a front elevational view of the hanger;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view showing the shiftableanchoring means of the hanger, the view being taken on the line 4-4 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the first step in mounting thehanger on a peg-board;

1 FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the way in which the shiftableanchoring means is moved to its effective relation;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an alternativeembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the lineS-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the portion of the body of thehanger of FIG. 7; and e FIGS. and 11 are perspective views showingadditional alternative embodiments of the invention.

For purposes of disclosure the invention is herein illustrated in FIGS.1 to 6 as embodied in a hanger 11 that may be readily and easily mountedin a stabilized relation in its position of use on a peg-board 12. Thepeg-board 12 is of conventional form and construction. The peg-board 12is made from a relatively rigid sheet of material such as hard board,and is provided with a grid-like pattern of perforations 14- wherein theperforations are arranged in horizontal and vertical lines spacedequally from each other. The peg-board 12 may be of the usual A; inchthickness with the perforations 14 being about /8 inch in diameter andat a spacing of one inch.

The hanger 11 is shown as being formed basically from a single length ofwire, to provide an elongated straight body 15 with a projecting supportat its lower end in the form of a book 16, and under the presentinvention, rigid anchoring means 17 and shiftable anchoring means 18 areprovided at spaced points along the body 15 for cooperation with twoadjacent vertically spaced perforations '14 in mounting the hanger 11 ina stabilized relation on a peg-board. As herein shown the rigidanchoring means 17 are formed at the upper end of the body 15, and suchrigid anchoring means 17 comprises a rearwardly extended shank 17Sperpendicular to the body 15 for cooperation with two adjacentvertically spaced perforations 14 in mounting the hanger 11 in astabilized relation on a peg-board. As herein shown the rigid anchoringmeans 17 are formed at the upper end of the body 15, and such rigidanchoring means 17 comprises a rearwardly extended shank 17Sperpendicular to the body 15 and in the plane of the support or hook 16,and the shank 178 extends rearwardly for a distance slightly greaterthan the thickness of the board 12 and has a short laterally projectingarm 17A at its rear end so that this arm is located in a plane parallelto the body 15 and perpendicular to the plane of the book 16.

Under the present invention, the shiftable anchoring means 18 arearranged so that when the anchoring means 17 is engaged with aparticular perforation 14 of the peg-board, the anchoring means 18 mayalso be engaged with the next lower perforation in the board. Theshiftable anchoring means 18 are shown in detail in a preferred form inFIG. 4 of the drawings, and it will be noted that the anchoring means 18provide a rotatable shank 20 that may be located within a perforation 14on the board, and at the rear end of the shank 20 a laterally projectingarm 21 is provided. The shank 20 is arranged to extend through and thenrearwardly from the body 15 of the hanger, and this is accomplished byflattening an appropriate area of the body 15 as at 15F and forming anopening 22 in this flattened portion through which a portion of theshank 20 may rotatably extend. In the present instance, the shank 20 hasits outer or forward end reduced as at 20R, and has an operating head20H formed on its forward end. The head is provided with a transversekerf 23 so that the anchoring means 18 may be rotated about the axis ofthe shank 20 thereof.

When the perforation 22 is initially formed in the flattened portion 15Fof the body, this perforation is made large enough so that the arm 21and the shank 20 may be moved endwise through the opening, and theflattened portion 15F is then compressed from opposite sides toward theaxis of the reduced portion 20R so that the rear face of the flattenedportion will engage an annular shoulder 208 that is formed at the rearend of the reduced portion 20R. Preferably, a spring washer 25 isdisposed about the reduced portion of the shank 20 between the head 20Hand the forward face of the flattened portion 15F, thus to urge theshank 20 in forward direc tion and act frictionally to retard rotativedisplacement of the shank 20.

When the hanger 1'1 is to be put in place on a pegboard, the anchoringmeans 18 are rotated so that the arm 21 thereof projects in the samedirection as the arm 17A of the fixed anchoring means. With the parts inthis relation, the two arms 17A and 21 may be inserted rearwardlythrough two adjacent perforations 14 and the peg-board, and then byrotating the hanger about a vertical axis, the hanger 11 is brought intothe position shown in FIG. 6. The anchoring means 18 are then rotatedthrough about 180 as by means of a screw driver S, FIG. 6, so that thearm 21 projects in a direction opposite to the direction of the arm 17A.The hanger 11 is then held against rotative displacement about itsvertical axis, and is firmly anchored and stabilized upon the peg-board.The hanger itself may be removed quite readily by rotating the anchoringmeans 18 to the relationship shown in FIG. 5, and rotating the entirehanger about a vertical axis from the position of FIG. 6 to the positionof FIG. 5.

In FIG. 7 such an alternative embodiment of the invention is shown, andthis alternative embodiment differs from the structure shown in FIG. 1primarily in the specific way in which the anchoring means '18 areformed and associated with the body of the hanger. Thus, in FIG. 7, ahanger 11 has a fixed upper anchoring means 17 of the kind and formheretofore described, and has a shiftable anchoring means 118 associatedwith the body 15 of the hanger downwardly from the anchoring means 17.In this instance also, the body 15 of the hanger has a flattened portionF, and as shown in FIG. 9, the flattened portion has an opening 122therein of somewhat diamond shaped form for purposes that will becomeapparent hereinafter. In this instance, the anchoring means 18 areformed from resilient Wire bent near its midportion to provide the arm121 with shank wires 120$ extended in spaced relation from the portionof the Wire that forms the arm 121 so as to form a shank 120. The shankWires 1208 are disposed at substantially right angles to the spacedparallel portion of the wire that forms the arm 121 so that these shankwires 1205 may extend in spaced relation through the opening 122 of thebody 15 and through a perforation 14 of a peg board. The shank wires1208 have loops 120L at their forward ends that are arranged to bearagainst a washer 125 which in turn bears against the forward face of theflattened body portion -115F. The washer 125 has an opening therein thatcorresponds in form with the form of the opening 122.

With this arrangement, the anchoring means 118 may be rotated so thatthe arm 121 projects in the same direction as the arm 17A of the fixedanchoring means, and when the parts are in this relation the mountingoperation may be performed in the same manner as hereinbefore described.Then, after the hanger 11 is in place, the anchoring means 118 may berotated to the position shown in FIG. 7 wherein the arm 121 projects ina direction opposite to the arm 175, the hanger 1 1 is then located andheld in a stabilized relation on the peg-board. In the form of theinvention shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 the resilience that was provided by thespring 25 in the embodiment of FIG. 1, is provided by the resilience ofthe wire from which the anchoring means 118 is made. The shank wires120$ of the shank 120, when rotated within the opening 122 tend toremain in engagement with the ends 12213 of the opening 122. This actioncauses the anchoring means 118 to snap into and remain in either itslocking or releasing position.

In the embodiments of the invention thus far described the mounting anddismounting of the hangers are accompanied by rotation of the hangerabout a vertical axis, but in FIGS. 10 and 11, alternative embodimentsof the invention are illustrated where both the fixed anchoring meansand the shiftable anchoring means are disposed along the upper edge ofthe hangers so that the mounting and dismounting operations areperformed by rotating or rocking the hangers about a horizontal axis atthe upper edge of the hanger bodies.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 10, the invention is illustrated as embodied in arack type hanger 211 that has a body 215 with a plurality of forwardlyprojecting supports 216 in the form of pairs of vertically alignedhorizontally disposed loops into which tools such as screw drivers,pliers and the like may be inserted. The body 215 includes a pair ofhorizontal wires 215H behind which three vertical wires 215V aredisposed in equally spaced relation and are welded to the wires 2151-1,the pairs of loops that form the supports are formed on opposite ends ofa U-shaped wire member having a vertical cross member 2 16C that isWelded to the wires 215H. The two wires 215V that are near the ends ofthe body 215 are formed at their upper ends to provide a pair ofrearwardly projecting rigid anchoring means 217, and intermediate themeans 217 and on the upper end of the upper or middle wire 215Vshiftable anchoring means 218 are provided. The anchoring means 217 and213 are arranged in a horizon tal line and are so spaced that all threeanchoring means may be engaged at the same time with three perforations14 of a horizontal row. In the present the spacing of the anchoringmeans in FIG. adapts the anchoring means for engagement with threeperforations 14 that have several intermediate perforationstherebetween. The rigid anchoring means 217 are in each instance formedintegrally at the upper ends of the wires 215V by a rearwardly extendedshank 217$ perpendicular to the rear face of the body 215, and at itsrear end the shank 2178 has an upwardly projecting arm 217A. It isparticularly pointed out that the rigid anchoring means 217 are thus ofwell known and conventional form, and further that it is by thecooperation of such conventional anchoring means with the shiftableanchoring means 218 that the novel and improved stabilization of thehanger 211 is attained under the present invention.

Thus, the shiftable anchoring means 218 is mounted in .an opening thatis formed in a flattened portion 215]? at the upper end of the middlewire 215V, and in this emhodiment of the invention the shiftableanchoring means is of simplified form. The anchoring means 218 has ashank 220 that extends from a kerfed head 220E, and the shank 220extends through the opening in the portion 215E with a relatively snugfit. The shank 220 is inserted through the opening while in straightform, and is then bent laterally to provide an arm 221.

The shifta-ble anchoring means 218 may thus be turned about the axis ofthe shank 220 so that its arm 221 projects upwardly and conforms withthe positioning of the arms 217A, and with the parts in this relation,the arms 217A and the arm 221 may he inserted rearwardly into a set orhorizontal row of perforations 14 of a board, and the body 215 of thehanger may then be rotated or rocked downwardly about a horizontal axisand into its position of use; The 'shiftable anchoring means 218 is thenrotated so that its arm 221 projects downwardly, and this serves to holdthe body 215 against undesired outward swinging movement.

In the forms shown in FIG. 11, a hanger 311 has a body 315 formed by aU-shaped wire 315U and a cross or horizontal wire 3-15H that extendsacross the open upper end of the U and is welded thereto. The upper endsof the U-shaped wire 315U are bent so as to extend forwardly to formarms 316 which provide a support for a shelf or for a fiat object. Atits opposite ends the horizontal wire 315H has fixed anchoring means 317while at the middle of the wire 315H a perforated fiattened portion 315Eis formed in which a shiftable anchoring means 313 is provided that isthe same form and construction a the anchoring means 218. The anchoringmeans 317 are of the same form as the anchoring means 217. It will benoted that the anchoring means 317 and 318 are spaced to engage threehorizontally adjacent perforations in a peg-board, the operation beingthe same as that described in connection with FIG. l0.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the presentinvention provides a new and improved pegboard hanger that embodiesstabilizing means whereby the proper functioning of the hanger isassured. It will also be apparent that the present peg-board hanger isadapted for mounting or removal from a peg-board in a novel and improvedmanner.

Thus while preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedherein, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the appending claims.

I claim:

1. A peg-board hanger comprising a vertically elongated body having arigid support extended forwardly therefrom, fixed anchoring means on thebody comprising an integral first shank extended rearwardly from thebody and an integral arm extended from the end of the shank at rightangles to said first shank, said body at a point spaced from said fixedanchoring means having a shiftable anchoring means mounted thereon andextended rearwardly beyond said body parallel to said first shank andhaving a second arm thereon at its rear end disposed at right angles tosaid second shank, said second shank having operating means at itsforward end for rotating said second shank from a mounting positionwherein said second arm projects in the same direction as said first armto a locking position wherein said second arm is displaced about 180from said mounting position.

2. A peg-board hanger according to claim 1 in which said second shank isheld against axial displacement relative to the body of the hanger.

3. A peg-board hanger according to claim 1 wherein said second shank,said second arm and said operating means are formed as a single unitfrom a single length resilient wire.

4. A peg-board hanger comprising a vertically elongated body having arigid support extended. in a forward direction therefrom, fixedanchoring means at the upper end of the body comprising an integralfirst shank extended at right angles to the body and an integral armextended from the end of the shank at right angles to the body and saidshank, said body at a point spaced downwardly from the upper end thereofhaving a shiftablc anchoring means mounted thereon and comprising asecond shank extended rearwardly through and beyond said body parallelto said first shank and having a second arm thereon at its rear enddisposed at right angles to said second shank, said second shank havingmeans at its forward end for rotating said second shank from a mountingposition wherein said second arm projects in the same direction as saidfirst arm to a locking position wherein said second arm is displacedsubstantially more than from said mounting position, and spring meansacting to hold said second shank against displacement from the rotativeposition to which it has been turned.

5. A peg-board hanger comprising a vertically elongated body having arigid support extended forwardly therefrom, fixed anchoring means at theupper end of the body comprising an integral first shank extended atright angles to the body in the plane of the support and an integral armextended from the end of the shank at right angles to the body and saidshank, said body at a point spaced downwardly from the upper end thereofbeing flattened and having an opening therethrough parallel to saidfirst shank, a shiftable anchoring means mounted in said opening andcomprising a second shank extended rearwardly through said opening andbeyond said body parallel to said first shank and having a second armthereon at its rear end disposed at right angles to said second shank,said second shank having means at its forward end for rotating saidsecond shank from a mounting position wherein said second arm projectsin the same direction as said first arm to a locking position whereinsaid second arm is displaced about 180 from said mounting position.

6. In a peg-board hanger, an elongated body adapted to be disposed in avertical position in front of a pegboard and having a support thereonprojecting forwardly therefrom, a pair of shanks extending rearwardlyfrom the body in positions spaced apart vertically a distance equal tothe spacing of perforations in peg-board, arms integral with andperpendicular to the respective shanks at the rear ends of the shanks,one of said shanks being fixed with respect to the body and having itsarm located in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the support, andthe other of said shanks being rotatable about'its axis to locate itsarm in either a mounting position or a locking position.

7. In a peg-board hanger, an elongated body adapted to be disposed in avertical position in front of a pegboard and having a support thereonprojecting forwardly therefrom, a pair of shanks extending rearwardlyfrom the body in positions spaced apart a distance equal to the spacingof perforations in peg-board, arms integral with and perpendicular tothe respective shanks at the rear ends of the shanks, one of said shanksbeing fixed with respect to the body and having its arm located in aplane peripendicular to the plane of the support, and the other of saidshanks being formed from resilient wire and being rotatable about itsaxis to locate its arm in either a mounting position or a lockingposition.

8. In a peg-board hanger, an elongated body adapted to be disposed in avertical position in front of a peg-board and having a support thereonprojecting forwardly therefrom, a pair of shanks extending rearwardlyfrom the body in positions spaced apart a distance equal to the spacingof perforations in peg-board, arms integral with and perpendicular tothe respective shanks at the rear ends of the respective shank, one ofthe shanks being located at the upper end of the body and being fixedwith respect to the body and having its arm located in a planeperpendicular to the plane of support, and the other of said shanksbeing extended through the body for rotation about the axis of the shankfor locating the arm thereof selectively in a mounting position whereinsuch arm projects in the same direction as the arm of the otheranchoring means, or to a locking position wherein such arm projects inan opposite direction.

9. A peg-board hanger comprising an elongated body having rigid supportmeans extended forwardly therefrom, a pair of fixed anchoring means inhorizontally spaced positions at the upper end of the body and eachcomprising an integral first shank extended rearwardly at right anglesto the body in the plane of the support and an integral arm extendedupwardly from the end of the shank at right angles to said shank, saidbody at a point spaced intermediate said fixed anchoring means having aflattened portion having an opening therethrough parallel to said firstshanks, a shiftable anchoring means mounted in said opening andcomprising a second shank extended rearwardly through said opening andbeyond said body parallel to said first shanks and having a second armthereon at its rear end disposed at right angles to said second shank,said second shank having means at its forward end for rotating saidsecond shank from a mounting position wherein said second arm projectsin the same direction as said first arms to a locking position whereinsaid second arm is displaced about 180 from said mounting position.

10. In a peg-board hanger, an elongated body adapted to be disposed inposition in front of a peg-board and having a support thereon projectingforwardly therefrom, a pair of shanks extending rearwardly from the bodyin positions spaced apart a distance equal to a multiple of the spacingof perforations in peg-board, arms integral with and perpendicular tothe respective shanks at the rear ends of the shanks, one of said shanksbeing fixed with respect to the body and the other of said shanks beingrotatable about the axis to locate its arm in either a mounting positionwherein it projects in the same direction as the arm of the fixed shankor a locking position wherein its arm projects in the oppositedirection.

11. A peg-board hanger comprising a body adapted to have its rear facerest against such a board and having a rigid support extended in aforward direction therefrom, a plurality of fixed anchoring means atspaced points along the upper end of the body and each comprising anintegral first shank extended at right angles to the body and anintegral arm extended from the end of the shank at right angles to thesaid shank and in an upward direction, said body at a point spaced fromsaid fixed anchoring means and in a line therewith having a shiftableanchoring means mounted thereon and comprising a rotatable shankextended rearwardly through and beyond said body parallel to said firstshank and having a locking arm thereon at its rear end disposed at rightangles to said rotatable shank, said second shank having means at itsforward end for rotating said second shank from a mounting positionwherein said locking arm projects upwardly to a locking position whereinsaid locking arm projects downwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

